


Markets

by Xenamorph



Series: After the War [2]
Category: Wizard101 (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:01:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25741726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xenamorph/pseuds/Xenamorph
Summary: Rowan and Cal chat before the market opening
Relationships: Calamity Legendwhisper/Cal Drakebringer, Calamity Legendwhisper/Cal Drakebringer/Jasmine Nightflame/Rowan Mythhunter
Series: After the War [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867282
Kudos: 1





	Markets

There's nothing like the open sky markets in the Wizard City loading docks. Not many people were there, but after Malestaire was defeated and the Spiral was (temporarily) saved, vendors started coming in. Exotic spices from far away worlds, linens and fabrics from them too. Even from Celestia, though it was nothing like how it used to be, had vendors coming in. Organic armors and decorations made from the shells and bioluminescent plant matter found in the drowned world. Rowan loved it, even if the spices sometimes got a tad bit too much for her sensitive canine nose.

Of course, as with all markets, there was an underbelly. An entire new landmass had been constructed using Balance and Myth magic, and it was only as steady as the belief of everyone who believed in it's steadiness. Merchants had set up their stalls, some temporary, some permanent, and hawked their wares. In the Commons, the tree that was there usually had a whole host of nailed in advertisements, proclaiming rare treasures and loot from battles that the students of Ravenwood were never allowed to do themselves.

A section of four stalls were owned by four almost-women. Rowan, Cal, Jasmine, and Calamity had all banded together in order to make it. After years of fighting together (and after Jasmine was no longer a victim of her own pride and ambition), they had stacked up enough loot and rewards that they could never really do use it all in any of their lifetimes. So they decided to sell it back to the community and use the money in that market. 

Rowan grunted as she heaved at a box of ore, having to drag it all the way from the market entrance since magic wasn't allowed in the perimeters. Too many angry pyromancers setting competitors' stalls aflame, too many necromancers scaring off children with animated skeletons, too many thaumaturges ruining theurgists' plant life with frostbite, the rule had to be set up for the good of everyone. "Cal, come give me a hand with these!"

"I'm fixing up my own stall, do it yourself!" came the rough, shouted out reply from halfway across the market. Cal Drakebringer was an intense person, if they could be called that. They were entirely mechanical, an automaton with a Dragonspyrian knowledge crystal embedded in the heart of it to animate it, and had been for almost their entire life. Having little memories of their life in Dragonspyre, Cal took it upon themself to fully embrace the ideals of the world (or at least, the ideals before it became a colonistic power). Loud and brash and self sufficient in all things. Cal fixed up some of the Zafarian masks on their wall, straightening them and making sure the eyeholes faced out in order to attract customers. "It's just one box of ore, you are fine!"

"But Callie-" Rowan got out before quieting down at the ruby eyed glare sent her way from a Zafarian Zebra. It would've been far too rude to continue to shout out across the marketspace, and Rowan definitely didn't need another hit against her stall. She already had two, and three strikes and she would have to wait for a year before coming back. One had been gotten for her summoning up minions to help move boxes in (she didn't know about the rule then, she swears!), and another had been for getting into an argument with another vendor about who's deep mushrooms were better quality (it was over a very rich customer, she can't be blamed!). She rolled her eyes as she hefted the box of ore, feeling the weight shift and clack against each other as she slowly made her way towards the middle of the market where her stall lay. Rowan harnessed a bit of magic, just enough to let her see through the box and not crash into anyone as she moved to heave the box onto the front table of the stall. 

Her hand passed over the sign, changing the text from "NIGHTSHADE" to "ORE". Rowan grabbed the crowbar laying underneath the register and popped the box open, peering down and examining the pieces of ore. "Cal, get your metal a... _self_ over here and tell me which of these ore I should put in the front." She barely stopped herself from cursing as a child of one of the vendors pranced past.

Cal's metallic sheet face slipped into a scowl and they moved around their stall to come into Rowan's, "You should know your own wares, are you not confident that what you're selling is good?" The words were hissed out, some steam coming off of the vents in their joints.

"That's not it at all! I'm positive that what I'm selling is good I just...don't know what to put out on front line display!" Rowan waved her paws around, eyes darting to make sure no one overheard, "The broken stuff just goes into the transmutation pouches, the perfect pieces are in front to catch people's eyes. Some people just like having perfect ore around their house, and some people just need some ore for their latest project or spell. Now help me will you?"

Cal's quicksilver expression shifted into rolling eyes as they pointed at their own stall, "I will help you, but you have to help me. Go to my stall and start unpacking masks only, will you? And change sign to say Zafarian Masks and Hats." The words were almost bit out, but Rowan just beamed and kissed her partner on the cheek.

"Of course! There better not be any cursed masks in there or I'm going to be really pissed and you're going to be doing my chores for the next month," Rowan nodded her head after speaking, as if affirming her own words, and then glided out of the stall and hopped over the front desk of Cal's. 

The box of masks was already open, and even though the day was only just beginning and the sun was bright in the sky, Rowan had to tamp down on a shiver looking at the hollow eyes. "These...you know I was joking when I talked about them being cursed right? Like these aren't going to be cursed, are they?"

Cal let out a tinny laugh, shaking their head slightly as they browsed through the box of ores. Setting aside the most intact pieces in order to set them up after the fact and slipping the broken off chunks into individual bags. "They are not cursed, just a little scary, intimidation tactics go for a lot these days, yes?"

"Yeah..." Rowan chewed on her lower lip as she gently settled one of them on the hook, "Hey, this one looks familiar. It's the one with the pink feathers around it and the skull face mask?" It was a little rough around the edges, some splintering of the wooden frame at the bottom and a few of the feathers had minuscule tears. Nothing that could drastically impact the sale, but small imperfections that would definitely lead to someone haggling.

"Ah yes, the Sweet Kiss of Death Mask. We got that together, you know. While we were in Azteca, and the person was so grateful they made us all a mask. Do you remember, Rowan?" Cal's voice was soft in tone, but loud enough for Rowan to hear between the stalls. 

"Why are you selling it then! It's a relic from our adventuring days, why are you getting rid of it?" Rowan gasped, plucking the mask off of the wall and holding it to her chest. "It has such great memories, doesn't it? Why would you sell it!"

"You are a hoarder, love, something that I am not. You keep everything that reminds you of something else and that is why your stall is only reagents and advice, I do not have that issue. The mask is beautiful yes, but I do not need it to remember the good times. My memory banks do that for me, the mask merely takes up space in the home. It will also fetch at least a thousand gold, and with that I am planning on helping Jasmine get an actually trained service animal. But the memory will stay in your mask, because I know that you are not getting rid of it."

"Of course I'm not getting rid of it! It's from a dead world after all, it could be the last of it's kind!" Rowan pouted slightly as she put Cal's old mask back up on a peg. "You confuse me, Drakebringer."

"And you confuse me, Mythhunter, we confuse each other but it does not matter. We are in love and that is what does." Cal's metal fingers drummed on the stall's wood beam and they frowned at the bottom of the box, "What do I do with the ore that is almost dust. It is useless, is it not?"

"No it isn't! It can still be useful!" Rowan smiled at the display of masks as she carefully lifted up another and settled it on the wall, "Sorcerers use all sorts of reagents in their magic, so even if it's useless for crafting, it can be use _ful_ for magic! A lot of reagents are like that, which is why I don't throw out any of it!"

"You don't throw you anything in general, love." Cal remarked dryly as they scooped up some of the borderline dust and divvied it into more pouches, "I am sure that once you have sold all of _your_ reagents, you can take some of mine. I do not craft, the only thing I have to make is a dagger, but I have the recipe and it is mostly rare items."

"Rare items?" A new voice intruded, slick and soft and inquisitive as the stranger pulled down the hood of their robe. Standing in front of Rowan's stall was an Avalonian Fox, bipedal with scars marring their fur across their left eye. "I was on my way to my own stall when I heard that one of you needs some rare crafting items, I happen to be in the market of selling them."

Rowan's gut reaction was to tell the stranger off, growl and bark about how _she_ is also in the market of rare crafting reagents and that _her_ partner doesn't need anyone else helping in order to get their crafting done. But common sense, maybe, won out this time as Cal took the first move.

"Oh? And what sort of rare items do you sell?"

"Anything and everything, my dear automatronic friend," The fox spread their arms in a grand gesture that Rowan saw as cheesy and immature, "My name is Baxton Barnes and I've traveled the Spiral."

"So have I, so has she. What makes you special and what do you sell?" Cal's face was impassive and blank, more featureless than it usually was with only impressions of the eyes taking the place of their normal preset. The quicksilver making up their face plate was useful like that, useful for intimidation and keeping things secret until Cal decides to let it out. Rowan has seen them play poker, there's no facial tells.

Baxton seemed to falter at the dry response, before summoning up his showmanship aura again, "What makes me special is that I have the best deals this side of Grizzleheim! And well, I have almost every single specialty item all packed away in this very coat. Tell me what to bring out and I'll prove it!"

Cal tilted their head, face still impassive as their brows furrowed slightly, "Flying Squid Ink, I need forty five."

Again, he faltered, "Like I said, almost every single specialty item. I'm afraid I'm fresh out of Flying Squid Ink, there was a rather rude Olyphant bloke who bartered them all away for a measly sum of gold! Name another thing, and I will deliver it."

They were frowning now, silver lips pursed into something disappointed as Cal reached into their pouch. Pulling out a scrap piece of parchment and glancing at it, "Aethyr Ore? I only need twenty five of those."

Baxton's ears flicked down, arms falling to his sides as he fiddled with one of the buttons on his large overcoat, "Also...fresh out of those."

Cal gave a derisive snort, though it sounded more like an Marleybonian engine revving than a snort, and shook their head. "Useless, you have nothing I need. The other things in my list I can manage and would prefer to manage on my own, perhaps you should be careful about proclaiming that you have everything that anyone would want. Many here do not take kindly to charlatans."

"Charlatan? I'll have you know young sir, that *I* have been traveling these worlds since before you were born!" Baxton scowled, eyes narrowing as his fox ears flicked forward, "You do not get to mock me for not having two extremely rare items! I bet no one in this goddamn market even has them, or at least would sell them for anything less than an extremely high price!"

Throughout the battle of vendors, Rowan had been rustling in her personal reagent pouch (of course kept separate from her wares in order to not mess up any future crafting missions she might embark on. Her grin turned absolutely wolfish (quite ironic for an Akita) and she moved towards the stall that she owned, "Actually, Mx. Drakebringer, I have a few vials of Flying Squid Ink that I'm not longer using." Rowan made sure to catch the fox's eye as she oh-so-carefully placed ten small inkwells on the table. "My mace is already perfected, and I hadn't found any good use of the stuff! I'm glad that someone here can make use of the ink."

Baxton let out an almost feral growl and turned on his heel, moving towards his stall that was at the back of the market. His bushy tail lashing behind him as he slipped under the cloth separating him from his neighboring stalls. A little note card settled on the front of the stall as the curtain was drawn down.

Cal cackled upon seeing it, their eyes being advanced enough to read the card saying 'CLOSED'. "Tell me, darling, how long do you think he licks his wounds before trying that trick again?"

"Hmm, depends on how loud you walk up and down the stalls and talk about charlatans." Rowan giggled slightly as she hopped up onto the table. Her curled tail wrapping around her waist as she leaned to peck Cal's cheek, "I wasn't lying! I really am done with perfecting my mace and the Squid Ink's all yours! Ferric says that all that's left to be used from it is for statues and I...really don't want to have Baba Yaga just standing in the corner of our house."

"I don't know, I don't think I'd mind having a statue of Qismah waiting in the bedroom for me." Cal teased until Rowan swatted at their arm. "I kid, I kid, you know you're the only one for me."

"I wouldn't say _only_ one for you." Calamity's voice came from in front of the stall. The Krokatillian woman standing there and wearing her human disguise, leaving her with black cornrows that just barely graced her shoulder blades. Tying together the hair were gold rings and clay beads that Calamity had either bartered with or gotten as gifts from some of the poorer people that she had helped.

"You have a point there, so you are one of the only _three_ people right for me. " Cal amended as Calamity moved to peck both Rowan and their cheeks. "And I'm sure all of you would get a little jealous if I decided to reenact Pygmalion and Galatea with a statue of my Arcanum teacher."

"Damn right I would, mostly because I'd be jealous. Zander is great and all but..." Calamity trailed off, leaving the unspoken 'he's a koala' in the air as she slung an arm around Rowan's waist. "But hey, if you want a statue of a hot Qhat woman, I won't shame you!" Calamity chuckled, smiling wide.

Cal waved her off, huffing slightly as they moved to take the empty ore box off of the front table and slid it underneath it, " _You_ might not, but I doubt Rowan and Jasmine would give me the same benefit. Our home will go hot Qhat womanless, and you have those two to blame." Cal tugged on the rope to open the small partition between the two booths. "Now if you don't mind, I have so many masks to set up and I feel like Rowan was a little too busy eavesdropping to actually do the task I requested." 

Rowan huffed, pouting as well as her canine features allowed it, and crossed her arms over her chest, "I was making sure you didn't let yourself get swindled, I was being a good girlfriend!"

"Good girl, best friend," Calamity teased as she rubbed in between Rowan's ears. "You set up, Cal, you're always the one who brings in the big bucks." Mostly because reagents only made a few gold coins per (though depending on the need, sometimes Rowan was selling some incredibly rare items). Calamity's stall usually was handmade things, treasure cards, and a few things that she had taken from her ex-parents home, so she was a hit-or-miss in terms of popularity, but the treasure cards allowed her to treat the rest of them to dinner every few nights. Jasmine's stall was technically the most expensive, selling rare magical artifacts and offering herself as a merchant, but it had been too soon since the time when she was possessed with her own greed and people were wary of her.

"Hey! I could make big bucks! I have a lot of rare reagents, I just want to get rid of the normal ones first so if I see them again I can harvest to try to get the rare things without worrying about losing out on any money! Even if it's just a few gold coins, that would still be a few gold coins lost, it's all about the economy." Rowan defended, always being the more money minded of the quartet. 

Cal quested in order to see the world and learn more about their history, about the world that died before they could think and figure out exactly how to improve their metal body. Calamity quested as a way of making up for the crimes of her ancestors, no matter how many times she gets told that that isn't her responsibility. Jasmine quested as a way of gathering honor, of making herself unforgettable in the scheme of everything, to write her name on the wall of history and have her name in everyone's mouth and mind (and well, she succeeded, but now she quests to change that legacy into something that her mothers can be proud of).

Rowan originally quested for money, taking odd jobs here and there in order to make cash for herself. Her parents, while they were wealthy merchants, instilled into her the worth of a gold piece and taught her how to haggle and how to barter. To make sure the other person was left famished and she was feasting. Selfish it may be, that was how she was raised and how she acted until a year into their adventuring together. They had saved a village in Mooshu from burning and her first reaction was to ask for money. Getting glares from her teammates as the villagers tried to cobble together what little money they had saved in order to pay the group (of course the other three stopped them from paying and instead took lessons on crafts, much to Rowan's then-distaste). Afterwards, Rowan almost literally got her ear bitten off by an undisguised Calamity who was getting a little pissed with her entitlement. 

"It's called being a hoarder, babe, you're a hoarder and there's _nothing wrong with that_ , it's just who you are!" Calamity hummed out as she rested her head on Rowan's shoulder, "Like I said, nothing wrong, just who you are but also...have you thought about maybe getting rid of a few of your gear pieces that are just collecting dust in the house. We don't have infinite space you know, and with the whispers of something going on in Karamelle, we might need the space for the things to come."

"But- but all of that stuff has memories attached to it! Throwing it away would just be getting rid of those memories, Calamity I couldn't do that, they're my memories!" Rowan gasped, eyes widening as her paws squished slightly at Calamity's cheeks, "We can just expand the house, can't we?"

Calamity sighed, lips pursed slightly due to Rowan's squishing of her cheeks, "We don't have infinite room, and come on! If you're that worried about memories, we can get you a journal! That way you can write down all of your memories and the items you associated with them, so that you can go back and read over what you wrote and the pictures of the items." 

"But it wouldn't be the same!"

"No, it wouldn't be the same. But is that a bad thing? Is it really that bad to have it be different? Memories are fickle, and they can leave us at any time. But if you write it down, and draw or capture the item, then you can have that forever. And we can show it off without having to worry about breaking the item." Calamity reasoned, her hand gently squeezing Rowan's, "Besides, if we get rid of the _items_ , that doesn't mean we're getting rid of the memories of those items. It just means we're getting rid of the items themselves, and we're making space for new items and new memories."

"New items for Rowan to hoard, hah!" Cal's laughter was slightly muffed from the cloth surrounding them, but it was still enough for Rowan to glare.

"Now now, girlies and Cal, don't fight." The final member of their quartet joined them, having set up her stall for the day across from Rowan without any of them noticing. "Mamma Jaz is here in order to make sure that everything gets settled." She moved between the stalls, giving each of her partners a kiss on the lips before leaning against the wooden post of Rowan's stall. "It's just simple math, babe, if we sell the items we can buy new, useful items. Besides, what if you find yourself liking the new outfits in that world and we just don't have any space!"

"Do you really think we'll be invited to the new world? I mean, I don't see why we would. Spider and Morganthe and... _you_ have already been taken care of. What else is there for us to save, and Merle only really calls upon us if he needs us to save things." Rowan shifted to straddle the desk, able to look her girlfriend in the eye.

Jasmine just let out a slight laugh, shaking her head slightly, "Don't worry babe, even if we don't need to save anyone, that doesn't mean we can't _go_! Cal over there is Qismah's star pupil, I'm sure they could talk their teacher into letting them access the world for study." She rolled an orange between her two hands, fingertips ashy from her pyromancy and stained ink black from her time dabbling in shadowmancy. 

"Hmm, that is true. Plus we could probably bully Merle into giving us the key, frame it as reparations for making us child soldiers yeah?" Calamity laughed, even though it wasn't funny to anyone but the quartet. "I'd love to tour the chocolate factory though, mhmm, I've always been interested in those chocolates."

Rowan frowned at that, "I can't eat chocolate! There better be not chocolate things there or else I'm going to be pretty upset!"

"Oh don't worry baby, you're _always_ pretty." Jasmine laughed as she moved up on her tiptoes to kiss Rowan's cheek as she moved towards her own stall. "I think Lydia's from there, you can ask her about it and see if there's any dog-friendly substitutes." 

"It's really weird that you call our teachers by their first names, I could never call Mister Drake by his first name," Rowan shivered at the thought, fiddling with her necklace, "Though that might be because he kinda scares me. I mean, he is really mean and I feel like insulting him by using his first name would be a one way ticket to expulsion!"

"Rowan...honey, we can't get expelled. We've already graduated remember?" Calamity's lips twitched in her effort to not giggle, "Honestly, I don't know Madame Wu's first name, but I'd probably still call her Madame Wu even if I did!"

"Would you call her Madame Wu or would you call her mom?" Rowan shot back, poking Calamity in the side.

"I called her mom _one_ time! It was _one_ time let me live it down!" She could feel her cheeks burn as she shoved at Rowan, almost pushing her off the table. Calamity glanced at the watch on her wrist, frowning slightly at the time, "I better get to my stall, the market should open soon and I've spent way too much time with you guys already. I'll see you at home, okay?"

Rowan's shoulders slumped as she slipped into her booth properly, giving her girlfriend one last tight hug before letting her go, "Okay! Maybe we can have a date night tonight! I bet we'll all get some stories of customer service today."

Calamity faked a shudder as she moved across the way to her booth next to Jasmine's, "We better not, I don't want anymore drama. We've had enough to last a lifetime, haven't we?" The other three hummed, shouted, and laughed their agreement.

"If you see a fox named Baxton, don't trust whatever he says! He's a charlatan!" Rowan made sure to make her voice louder just in case people were eavesdropping. "He lied to Cal about having rare reagents and had none of them!"

Cal hummed, nodding their head when Calamity and Jasmine looked at them to confirm this, "I am working on improving my dagger, he did not have Aethyr Ore or Flying Squid Ink, but darling Rowan here had some spare that she gave me." Cal glanced down at the vials waiting and swept them into their reagent pouch. "We might need to stop by Empyrea soon, I know we were just there on vacation but I need this ink and the ore that there. And I don't want to take away from anymore gold that Rowan might bring in."

"Aww, babe I'd love to go adventuring with you! We should stop by Dragonspyre, if you wouldn't mind, the next thing on my list to sell is Lava Lilies and I'd love to see if I can collect some more to really get all that I can sell. Plus, I want to collect some fire blossoms both for around the house and for a little side project of mine," Rowan smiled, bustling around her stand as she settled price tags on all of her ore wares. More money for the bigger pieces and for the dust (just because she knew Sorcerers look specifically for pre-crushed ores), and less than the Bazaar for the smaller pieces (competitive selling is just another trick of the trade after all, and Rowan's long made peace with the fact that Erik doesn't like her). "Or that place in Avalon, there's less there but I know a good place that has them spring up everyone once in a while!"

"Right, yeah if you guys are going to the Wyrd, then I'm coming too!" Jasmine called out, smiling large enough to be seen from across the way, "I want to visit my moms and tell them about the progress I'm making, plus I know there's a lot of mist wood to be found and I need a good for the library I'm trying to make for my section of the house!" Her stall didn't need much upkeep, considering that there was rarely anything actually bought. Though she did change a few of the prices on her deals for mercenary work, making it a little bit more expensive for the coming months rather than booking in further advance. After all, she wants to make her money's worth if she's going to be made to cancel on a date night. 

"Well, if you three are all going, then I'll come too." Calamity hummed, tying her cornrows up into a high ponytail as she began to take out all of her treasure cards. She moved to her small clipboard with the upcoming events that hadn't been properly released to the public, and grinned at the sight of a deckathalon coming up. Ice, which means that fire treasure cards will be in dire need. A flick of her hand and the leaves proclaiming the prices changed, making the fire school hits and the ice shields a tad bit more expensive. Her customers could go to Argleston for cheaper cards that might crumple into ash at their fingers or they could stay with her for reliable utility at hiked prices.

"It is an agreement then. How does Friday sound, the market is closed then and I don't think we have any assignments. Jasmine, do you have any missions that you have to complete on Friday?" Cal asked as they hung up the last of their collection of masks, smiling slightly at the sight of the (albeit creepy) display of wares. Most of the masks were from Zafaria, but there still were a few from Azteca (the worst of which were smoldering and the best of which looked almost perfectly preserved). Cold wind spiraled from the small gaps in between their finger joints as price tags attached themselves to each mask. 

"I'm all good with Friday, I have nothing that needs to be done until exactly a week, next Monday," Jasmine slipped on her gloves, fire resistant and mostly used to cover up the telltale spirals of ink creeping down her hands. While anyone who came to her for jobs knew about her past, the constant reminder of shadowmancy tended to make people uncomfortable and less likely to take her deals. "Friday sounds good for a round trip of Dragonspyre, Avalon, and Empyrea. Maybe we can make a weekend out of it?"

"That sounds good! Friday for Dragonspyre, Saturday for Empyrea, and Sunday for Avalon! That way we have all day to get those aethyr ores and squid ink, and we can visit Jasmine's moms for dinner on Sunday!" Rowan cheered, bouncing slightly on her heels as she glanced at the magically protected ceiling. It was clear, but if it ever rained it would deflect the water so that no one's stalls would be ruined. It also was color coded; black meant it was time to close up shop, pink meant it was time to set up shop, and green was the rest of the day. 

The ceiling slowly transitioned from a rosy pink to a carnation green and the three bells began chiming. The market was open and it was time for them to stop their chatter and start hawking their wares. After all, they can always flirt and joke at home.


End file.
